* 1959 – Magic Johnson, American basketball player

Other luminaries include Keith Johnstone, the British teacher and writer – author of Impro, who founded the Theatre Machine and whose teachings form the foundation of the popular shortform Theatresports format, Dick Chudnow, founder of ComedySportz which evolved its family-friendly show format from Johnstone's Theatersports, Stan Wells, creator of the " Clap-In " longform style and founder of The Empty Stage Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles, and Bill Johnson, creator / director of The Magic Meathands, who pioneered the concept of " Commun-edy Outreach " by tailoring performances to non-traditional audiences, such as the homeless and foster children.

* 1991 – Magic Johnson announces that he is infected with HIV and retires from the NBA.

Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics Larry Bird in Game Two of the 1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden.

That same year, rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers respectively, initiating a period of significant growth in fan interest in the NBA throughout the country and the world.

* Johnson, Graham, High Speed Digital Design, a Handbook of Black Magic, Prentice Hall, 1973, ISBN 0-13-395724-1

* Magic Johnson

** Magic Johnson, American basketball player

** Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces he has HIV, effectively ending his NBA career.

That perception shifted as White and other prominent HIV-infected people, such as Magic Johnson, Arthur Ashe, the Ray brothers and Kimberly Bergalis, appeared in the media to advocate for more AIDS research and public education to address the epidemic.

* Magic Johnson: The Magic Man, Buck, Mag

In Game Six, rookie Magic Johnson played center for the Lakers in place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( who was out because of a sprained ankle sustained in Game Five ) and scored 42 points.

Had the Bulls won the toss, they would have selected the great Magic Johnson ; instead, they selected David Greenwood with the second pick.

The Pistons ' first trip to the Finals saw them face the Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

They lost every home game in both series in 1982 and 1983 vs the Lakers as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and co were too strong.

Tim Duncan was named Finals MVP, becoming only the fourth player to win the MVP award three times ( joining Magic Johnson, Shaquille O ' Neal, and Michael Jordan ).

Four Lakers — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O ' Neal and Kobe Bryant — have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Awards for a total of eight awards.

Magic Johnson along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the " Showtime " Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s.

In the 1979 NBA Draft, Los Angeles selected point guard Magic Johnson from Michigan State with the first overall pick.

On November 7, 1991, Magic Johnson announced he had tested positive for HIV and would retire immediately.

The rivalry had been less intense since the retirements of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the early 1990s, but in 2008 it was renewed as the Celtics and Lakers met in the Finals for the first time since 1987, with the Celtics winning the series 4 – 2.

Philip Anschutz bought a stake in the team in 1998, and until October 2010 Magic Johnson was a minority owner as well.

Red Hot Chili Peppers ' song " Magic Johnson " from their 1989 album Mother's Milk is a tribute to the former point guard, and frontman Anthony Kiedis and bassist Michael " Flea " Balzary are frequently seen attending home games.

The original release of Magic: The Gathering paid homage to Larry Niven on a card called " Nevinyrral's Disk ," with Nevinyrral being " Larry Niven " spelled backwards.

The Magic also amnestied Gilbert Arenas and signed Larry Hughes, Justin Harper, and DeAndre Liggins. The Magic started the season on Christmas Day at Oklahoma against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The first endorsers of " The Weapon " were Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who were prominently featured in a Converse commercial set in Bird's hometown of French Lick, Indiana in 1986.

Larry Niven details the idea in The Magic Goes Away, as an allegory for a modern-day energy crisis.

* Larry Niven – The Magic Goes Away

In the late 1960s Warner Brothers again spoofed Fields's persona with their character Merlin the Magic Mouse, voiced by Larry Storch, and a TV ad for Cocoa Puffs cereal featured Sonny disguising himself as Fields, voiced by Chuck McCann.

In 1979, Earvin " Magic " Johnson, along with Greg Kelser, Jay Vincent and Mike Brkovich, led the MSU team to a 75 – 64 win against the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores.

Regarding greatest basketballers of all time, Auerbach's candidates were Russell, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and Robertson.

The Bird vs. Dr. J matchup became arguably the top personal rivalry in the sport ( along with Bird vs. Magic Johnson ), inspiring the early Electronic Arts video game One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird.

( It is noteworthy that Indiana State lost Larry Bird to graduation, and Magic Johnson left Michigan State after his sophomore season to enter the 1979 NBA draft following the 1979 NCAA tournament.

Southern continued to work on other projects while Easy Rider began shooting — he completed his next novel Blue Movie ; began working with the painter Larry Rivers on a book project The Donkey and The Darling ; he worked on the final drafts of the screenplay for The Magic Christian, and he began discussions with Aram Avakian about a movie project called The End of the Road.

Hall of Famers Moses Malone, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, along with current player LeBron James, have each won the award three times, while Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash have each won it twice.

Bill Laimbeer and his Detroit teammates are the only players to have a playoff winning record against NBA legends Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan.

The 1979 NCAA Championship Game featured Magic Johnson's Michigan State University team facing off against Larry Bird's Indiana State University team.

Established stars in the game include Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( DOS version only ), Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Patrick Ewing.

The Magic Goes Away is a fantasy short story written by Larry Niven in 1976, and later expanded to a novella of the same name which was published in 1978.

Perhaps the most notable NBA point forwards are the 6 ' 9 " Larry Bird, who while playing as a small forward or power forward often ran the offense for the great Boston Celtics teams of the 1980s ; the 6 ' 9 " Earvin " Magic " Johnson, who orchestrated the Los Angeles Lakers ' offense in the 1980s as the team's point guard, moved to a point forward role upon returning heavier after his HIV announcement ; the 6 ' 8 " Scottie Pippen, who played with the Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, and ran the offense.

The characters Tom, Dick and Larry would later make cameo appearances on the 1990s Fox and WB network series Animaniacs, alongside Slappy Squirrel in " Frontier Slappy ," the Warners in " Magic Time ," and in Wakko's Wish.

Magic Johnson, Shaquille O ' Neal, and Tim Duncan all won the award three times in their career while Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Kobe Bryant won the award twice.